Review of SWISS flight from Hong Kong to Zurich in Economy

INTRODUCTION

Hello everyone,
when Summer 2024 vacations approached I decided not to book anything in particular. I made this choice for two reasons: first of all prices were incontrolably high and second, but not less important, I wanted to spend my two weeks work-break in total relax
This choice had a result by the way: planning a trip for the following Spring.

Around September I realized I could merge Easter '25 vacations with Italian Liberation Day, respectively the 20th and the 2th April 2025. Four day-offs would result in ten days at home, giving space for a good vacation

At first I had two options:
1. A tour of the Pearl river's delta, visiting Hong Kong, Macau, Shenzhen and Guangzhou
2. Azerbaijian with the option of a few days in Istanbul
The second option was on stage in case the first one resulted too expensive

Searching on the internet and asking a couple of people I realized the first option presented an issue: both Shenzhen and Guangzhou don't prove too interesting to be part of a porpouse trip
My father suggested me to try visiting Singapore and Kuala Lumpur, stopping over in Malacca for a night. Even if the plan was interesting and I've always wanted to visit Singapore (being an F1 fan too) I wasn't so sure leaving HK and Macau apart. Specifically, I made a 2-hour layoover in Hong Kong in 2019, while going to Vietnam, but due to ongoing protests it was not wise to organize a couple of days there.

After a brief check on prices for Singapore to HK/Macau flights, which proved quite cheap, I ended up with this itinerary:
19th to 22nd April in Singapore
22nd to 23rd April in Macau
23rd to 26th April in Hong Kong

Due to flights' scheduled I was supposed to leave Italy in the afternoon of 18th April and return home in the early hours of the 27th.

BOOKING OPTIONS

Considering I wanna focus this report more on the flight itself you can read further information about the planning and booking process in the previous reports

As solution to fly from Milan to Singapore and Hong Kong to Milan I ended up with the following solution with Lufthansa Group, paying 939 euros. The booking was made on October 10th

For Singapore to Macau flight I chose Scoot, paying 177 euros

The total for plane journeys was so 1136 euros

18th April 2025 - Milan-Malpensa (MXP) > Frankfurt (FRA) - Lufthansa LH 255 - Airbus A319
18th April 2025 - Frankfurt (FRA) > Singapore (SIN) - Lufthansa LH 778 - Boeing 747-8
22nd April 2025 - Singapore (SIN) > Macau (MFM) - Scoot TR 904 - Airbus A321neo
26th April 2025 - Hong Kong (HKG) > Zurich (ZRH) - Swiss International Air Lines LX 139 - Boeing 777-300ER
27th April 2025 - Zurich (ZRH) > Milan-Malpensa (MXP) - Swiss International Air Lines LX 1612 - Airbus A320

ROUTING

Some stats:
8th out of 9 flights of 2025 (as of May '25)
First time on HKG-ZRH route
First time departing from HKG as originating passenger

Longest flight I've made in my life: 10.283 km | 8.936 nm

BEFORE THE FLIGHT

24 hours before departure Lufthansa app allowed me to check-in
The process was easy, even if document verification was a bit slow

The system assigned me 42B, a central one
However, some seats were available and I chose 51K

I had flew with Swiss Boeing 777 when I visited Dubai in 2022 and at the time I chose the last but one row. Even still being made of just two seats (I was flying with a friend and was perfect) the curvature of the plane made the legroom un-aligned with the seat
Remembering the last row had enough room behind I was no worried about reclining possibilities

UNUSUAL PLANE SPOTTING

Two days before departure I visited the Giant Buddha at Po Lin Monastery on Lantau Island, 20 km west from HK downtown
The Monastery can be reached using the Ngong Ping 360, a panoramic cable car which offers great views of the island and its surroundings
Being the lower terminus of the cable car located just out of Hong Kong Airport perimeter, the ride should be a must for plane enthusiasts

The massive Terminal 1, designed by award-winning architect Norman Foster

Two DHL A330F (one branded by Air Hong Kong) and a blank 747F at the cargo apron

They were joined soon by a Cathay Cargo 747F

Just landed HKExpress A321

The firefighters training area is visible in the low front of the picture

T1 Satellite and the under construction T2 Satellite in the background
The airport is working hard to expand itself

Terminal 1, with the impressive SkyBridge connecting to the Midfield Concourse

Turkish Airlines 777 while landing, surrounded by Cathay Pacific birds
Such an unusual POV for a landing

Lufthansa Cargo 777F landing 

As I understood by FlightRadar, the southernmost runway (25L) was handling cargo landings, while 25C and 25R were respectively dedicated to take-offs and airliners arrivals

GETTING TO THE AIRPORT AND CHECK-IN

Visiting Hong Kong was wonderful, I really enjoyed this city
Everything was beyond expectation
In general I appreciated the contrast between the Chinese soul of the city and the British footprint 

Unfortunately, as in every trip, end always come too fast

With scheduled flight at 23:15 I decide to left my hotel in Wan Chan around 19
I grabbed a Uber and 10 minutes later I arrived at Hong Kong Station

The Airport Express is scheduled every 10 minutes and stops in Kowloon and  Tsing Yi on its way to HKG
The ride lasts around 24 minutes

In-town check-in is available, with baggages transfered straight to the airport, however my flight was not eligible

The train was empty
They were clean and new and equipped with tons of bag racks, plugs and WiFi

At 19:45 I finally arrived at Hong Kong "Chek Lap Kok" International Airport
The station is located right in front of Terminal 1

The Terminal architecture is impressive, the large white roof gives a sense of lightness and the orientation of the spans naturally guides passengers towards every step
Such a good job from Sir Norman Foster

Row F for Lufthansa Group

Counters weren't opened yet, however a large queue was already present
After almost 30 minutes of waiting LH ground staff showed up
I twas less than three hours before scheduled departure

After 15 minutes I finally checked my bag and received my boarding pass

Before accessing security I spent a few minutes outside to get some fresh air before the 12-hour leg to Zurich
I made my way to the inspection point moments before 21

WAITING, SPOTTING AND BOARDING

It took me around 10 minutes to clear both security and passport control
Not many people were queuing and the process was hassle-free

Considering my flight was scheduled for 23:15 and so I expected dinner to be served later than midnight, I made a stop at the food court for a quick meal
I was impressed by the prices, they're quite low compared to other airports

Having a lot of spare time before boarding I decided to explore the Terminal
The gate wing is impressively long

The shopping offer is very good
I walked around looking for a shop selling plane models
Even if a toy shop was present, their plane models selection was definitely too expensive

Food: done
Shopping: done
There's only one pre-boarding activity left: spotting

Cathay Pacific line-up

United Airlines Boeing 777 ready for its transpacific leg to LA or SF

Lufthansa A340-600

I then made my way to the bridge connecting Terminal 1 to the Satellite Concourse
The bridge, opened in 2022, has replaced the shuttle bus I had a ride on when I transferred in HKG on my way to Vietnam

The bridge lies 28 meters above an active taxiway, giving amazing views of the terminal and the apron
The structure is impressive

Cathay Pacific A330, 777 and many other lined up along with an Air France A350

Cathay Pacific A321neo

Thai Airways A320neo with an Air China and China Eastern couple of birds parked in the background

Cathay Pacific A330

Cathay Pacific 777 and Air France A350

The bridge hosts the SkyDeck, an enclosed viewing terrace

HKG Masterplan model

Cathay Pacific A321neo and Thai Airways A320 at the Satellite Concourse

Cathay Pacific 777 taxing to the gate

Cathay Pacific A321neo and Philippines Airlines A321

British Airways A350

Cathay Pacific 777 and A330

China Southern Airlines A321 pulling into the gate

As I returned back to the departure lounge the Cathay Pacific 777 had reached its stand

The bridge features also an exclusive bar called "Intervals"
I sneaked inside to have a look of the other side of the tarmac, where a Cebu Pacific A321 was taxiing

I arrived at my gate at 22:30, ten minutes before scheduled boarding time
People were already queuing, being divided in boarding groups

My ride back home
Swiss International Air Lines Boeing 77-300ER, HB-JND
First flight of the aircraft on 6th May 2016 (9.0 years), delivered to Swiss International Air Lines on May 2016. It's the 4th triple-7 delivered to LX
It carries 340 seats: 8 in F, 62 in C, 24 in Y+ and 226 in Y
The plane was pperated by Swiss Global until the 19th April 2018

BOARDING, THE CABIN AND THE SEAT

15 minutes beyond scheduled the gate was opened
People were called in their group order with great efficiency
I was in the 4th group

Before accessing security an e-gate matched boarding pass with passport and face recognition
Therefore, at the boarding only passport and face were required at the e-gate, making the process quicker

The General Electric engine is a true beast

Corporate door shot

I gave the Flight Report to the Purser
He seemed a bit annoyed about it

This welcoming sign is such a great touch

The main Business Class Cabin, located between L2 and L3, hosts 52/62 seats in staggered 2-2-1 configuration
I really wanna try the "throne" on the window side

Right behind L3 it lies the 24-seat Premium Economy class
There's no kind of separation with the Economy class 

The final section of Economy Class, located between L4 and L5

My home for the next 13 hours
Each seat presents a blanket and a cushion

Each seat is equipped with a 11" screen powered by Panasonic eX2 IFE
The screen comes with a type-A USB and a stereo port

The seat presents a table with external cup holder, a newspaper holder and a multiple foldable pocket with phone space

Legroom was generous. the seat proved to be very comfortable

The magazine holder contains the safety card, the in-flight shopping guide and the airline magazine

The view from my seat

TAXIING AND DEPARTURE

Ten minutes after scheduled departure time doors were armed and cabin set for take-off

We left the stand moments after
The engines came to life with a pleasant and hissing sound

The safety video was played in the meantime

Lights were lowered for departure

More spotting on the way to the runway

Lufthansa A340-600

Qatar Airways Boeing 777

Cathay Pacific and Turkish Airlines 777s

UPS Air Cargo 747F taking off 

Lining up on runway 07C

LX 139 FLIGHT FROM HONG KONG TO ZURICH

33 minutes after scheduled we left the ground

As the engines went full thrust my phone stopped to collaborate
I wasn't able to focus properly so the pic didn't came as expected in term of quality
By the way the view of the terminal was breathtaking

Goodbye Hong Kong, it was a wonderful experience!

Sunny Bay MRT station and North Lantau Highway interchange was the last thing I was able to spot
The plane was immediately sucked into clouds

Right after the take-off a promotional video was played
It lasted about 10 minutes, showing the strengths of Swiss Air Lines as the cuisine, the seat and the brand-new A350

1ST SERVICE: THE DINNER

20 minutes into the flight mood lighting turned orange in preparation of the dinner

A bottle of water and paper menu were delivered
The last time I saw a printed menu was with CX in 2019

The meal was made of an appetizer, a choice of chicken with vegetables and spaghetti with mushrooms and a dessert

Soon after we encountered a bit of turbulence
This delayed the delivery of food until one hour after take off

The tray was well presented, the black plastic plates looked very classy and the metal cutlery was very appreciated

The appetizer, a green papaya and corn salad with beans, was very fresh and tasty

The main course, spaghetti with truffle and shiitake mushrooms, was a bit "glued", but the sauce and the mushrooms showed great quality

The dessert, a chocolate cake, was very delicate

The tray had a vert good and warm bun accompanied with butter and brie and a cup of warm salty walnuts
The latter were such a great touch, the perfect way to start the meal

Overall the service impressed me, very good in quality and better than the one on LH

Meanwhile I watched Venom
The screen was working very good and the quality of hearphones was noteworthy

The only drawback: if you exit the movie to check the airshow for example, it needs to be restarted from zero, forcing you to find the spot on the progress bar

The meal ended while flying over Sichuan

Discovering the IFE

Right after trays were taken back the plane encountered a stronger turbulence
It was very long in time (almost one hour) and quite shaky

So I took advantage of this time to discover the IFE

The system is available in many languages

It features a great amount of Movies - divided by category and filtered by language - TV shows, Music, audio books and games

The airshow was much more advanced than the one on Lufthansa's flight
It features different views and setting
The best ones simulates the view from the cockpit, enabling flight parameters too

(I took the pic in HK, forgot to take one while exploring pages)

As the turbulence continued the guy next to me stood up to grab something in the overhead locker
The hostess, who was sitting in the galley a few meters behind us, shouted at him

"Sir, the seat-belt-sign is not a joke, if you bump you're head I AM the one assisting you…and a broken head would be the second misfortune of you tonight"

I found it quite funny to be honest

While turbulence slowed down I reclined my seat (the space behind was enough), put the blanket on and fell asleep 

THE JOURNEY CONTINUE TO THE 2ND SERVICE: THE BREAKFAST

I slept 8 hours in total, the sound of the engines was like being cradled and the seat comfort really helped
I woke up while approaching the Black Sea, three hours to Zurich

The cabin was still quite sleepy, with the blue mood lighting still on

I made a walk around to stretch my legs
The back galley had been set with water bottles, orange juice, crackers and some sweets

Returning to the seat I watched the comedy "To the Moon"

Always nice to see the old days of aviation in movies

Meanwhile a snack was delivered, along with beverages

The cracker were salty enough, the apple and cereal bar a bit gummy, but good in taste

Such a long way we've done!

Two hours before landing the mood lighting was switched from purple to orange in preparation for the breakfast

Outside the sun was setting

The breakfast tray was well presented as the one of the dinner

It featured the main course, a bread roll, fruit salad, butter and marmalade and a yougurt

The main course was scrambled egg with potatoes, spinach and beans
Overall the quality was very good, everything was tasty

The bread was warm as for the dinner and the fruit fresh
The packed products had good quality too

In general the breakfast was fine, totally in line with the dinner

During the entire service the crew was very kind and provided additional drinks at request, always checking if glasses needed a refill

The breakfast ended over Hungary, as we approached Austrian airspace

We were chased by the rising sun

Signature Swiss chocolate was the tip of a over-the-top service

The red-and-white-cross airline proved its name!

ARRIVAL IN ZURICH

Half a hour before landing the cabin was set for arrival

The cockpit feature of the airshow would have been much better with onboard camera, but that's enough

Descent happened for almost its entirety in the clouds
Finally spotting Swiss soil

Zurich Airport in the distance

Banking over the clouds to line up the runway
Alps were visible in the distance

Wallisellen suburb, located south of ZRH

A1 motorway cutting in half the picture

Opfikon suburb, just south of runway 34

SR Technics hangars

Dock A

At 6:25, ten minutes later than scheduled, we touch down at Zurich-Kloten Airport
The landing was the definition of butter
Brake run was also very smooth

Vacating the runway

A Swiss A340 landed right behind us

No doubts about the place

Blocking at Dock E 5 minutes after touching down

I waited to be among the last to disembark in order to visit the cockpit

Enter text here…

I asked the Purser about the flight report and he brought it back
However he told me it was not possible to visit the flight deck

Saying goodbye to this big Swiss guy

Right outside the jetway a quick passport check was done

I really like Zurich Airport architecture, the mixture of concrete, metal, wood and glass is appreciable by the architect-me

Etihad Airways 787 landing in the distance

Making my way to the security check-point
It was 6:50
Boarding to Milan scheduled for 8:35

Stay tuned for the last leg of this trip…